Former England cricket captain dies as moment of silence held before start of match and tributes paid to star who also gained rugby union cap for his country
A former England cricket captain who also represented his country at rugby union has died.
Mike Smith, known by his initials MJK, played 50 Tests for England, captain on 25 occasions, and was also a rugby union international as he earned one cap against Wales in 1956. After a playing career that lasted almost two decades with Warwickshire, yielding nearly 40,000 first-class runs, Smith went on to serve as county chairman between 1991 and 2003 – a period during which Warwickshire won seven major trophies.
Warwickshire announced the news of the 92-year-old’s death on Monday morning, with a moment of silence held before the start of play on day four of their County Championship match against Glamorgan.
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Smith made his first-class debut for Leicestershire prior to two years of compulsory military service, and continued to represent his native county while studying at Oxford University.
He joined Warwickshire in 1956 and was appointed captain the following year.
Smith’s Test debut came in 1958 against New Zealand on home turf in Birmingham. Although initially selected as an opener, Smith began to flourish when moved to the middle order, making his first international century against India at Old Trafford in 1959.
His opportunity to captain the side came in the absence of Ted Dexter and Colin Cowdrey for a tour of India in 1963-64. In his 25 Tests as captain, Smith suffered defeat only three times with 17 draws and five victories.
Following retirement, he spent five years as a referee before becoming Warwickshire chairman in 1991 – overseeing a period which brought back-to-back county championship titles in 1994 and 1995.
His son Neil, known as NMK, followed in his footsteps to become Warwickshire captain and earning one-day international honours for England.